


Moorland Birthday Bash

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 11:07:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13856538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Maya throws a birthday party for her new friend, while Lynx is... well, Lynx. Clara belongs to clara-polarbear-sso on tumblr.





	Moorland Birthday Bash

Being a stablegirl who secretly lived on the other side of Jorvik, Maya was used to waking up early. Dew and mist still clung to the spiderwebs strung between the blades of grass in the Forgotten Fields as she stepped outside of the small house where she lived with her family, stomping her feet and shoving her hands into her armpits as her teeth chattered and she shivered from the cold. Mrs Holdsworth (and Jenna, and Mr Moorland, and Justin, when he’d been there) had offered to let Maya stay somewhere closer to the stables, but she always refused. There was no place like home, and her family needed her here. Besides, the journey was a lot faster now that she had a horse. Now, she only had to rise at five in the morning, instead of three.

Thinking of her horse, she rolled her eyes with a fond smile as she walked down the path and then up a hill, turning right to enter the yard of the derelict stables. Truly, these stables should have been torn down (or, at the very least, fallen down), but she’d fixed it up well enough for one horse to stay there. With the help of her new friend Alex, of course. And a newer friend, Clara Polarbear, had helped Maya to realise that Lynx really was her horse, after all. Maya grunted as she pulled the stable doors open, having to pause to regain her breath and strength between each one. But at least it would make it harder for anyone to steal her horse, or for Lynx to get out.

The horse was, as she’d half-feared, standing in the middle of the aisle rather than in his stall, the door to said stall lying in front of him. He sniffed at it, then looked up as if to say “I have no idea what happened.” Maya rolled her eyes lovingly, then bridled and clipped a lead rope onto Lynx before bending to pick up the door and rest it against the hinges.

“You naughty boy,” Maya chided, rubbing his neck. Lynx sniffed her arm, then began sniffing and nosing at her pockets for food. “No, there’s no food, naughty boys don’t get treats.” Lynx jerked his head back, his ears pinned back against his mane. Maya could have sworn that his eyes got bigger.

“No,” said Maya again, and cross-tied him in the aisle. Lynx shook himself, jerking a little in an attempt to get free, but then lowered his head with a blow of air over his lips, resigned to his fate. “Good, now stay there while I get your tack.”

The tack room was empty and strewn with dirt and cobwebs, aside from one clean space where Maya kept Lynx’s tack. Her cousin had sent her the tack along with Lynx, hoping that her pony could be exercised properly while he was on vacation. Privately, Maya was beginning to suspect that her cousin had wanted to be rid of the horse. But, for once, Lynx stood still while Maya brushed him down and then tacked him up. He even trotted calmly out into the yard, and waited for Maya to finish closing the stable doors before he plunged his head into the water bucket at the well.

“Lynx!” Maya scolded, grabbing his halter and frowning in dismay at the water that splashed onto her as he overturned the bucket. Lynx nickered, and Maya sighed and petted his forelock. “Nobody needs coffee when you’re around.” Lynx blew air out through his nostrils, and allowed his rider to mount him again.

Lynx was as fast as his namesake, if a little less carnivorous. The ground seemed to fly out from under them as Lynx galloped across Jorvik after he’d warmed up enough, Maya clinging to him for dear life. Now, she was glad that she’d learned to ride back when her family could afford horses. Thankfully, the gates to Moorland Stables were open as Lynx flew through them, then came to a dead stop in front of the stables, depositing Maya into a wheelbarrow full of hay. At least it was clean this time. He looked quite proud of himself as Maya pulled herself out of the hay with a huff and dusted herself off.

“Good morning, Maya,” Jenna called as she walked past with another wheelbarrow.

“Morning, Jenna,” said Maya, waving at her before she returned to picking hay out of her hair, grumbling a little about Lynx.

Lynx was kept in the stableyard while Maya worked, tied to the fence by the noticeboard so that he wouldn’t get into too much trouble. Jenna had already pinned a list of stable chores there, which Maya was glad for, because she had a job to do today. Nervously, she approached Mr Moorland.

“Um, Mr Moorland?” said Maya, looking up at him and chewing on her lip. He stood in the middle of the stableyard, as ever, looking rather forlorn without his son there.

“Hm? What’s up, Maya?” asked Thomas. Maya took a deep breath, straightening.

“Well, it’s Clara Polarbear’s birthday today, and since she’s my friend, I wanted to do something special for her,” said Maya, her finger curling in a lock of her red hair.

“I see,” said Thomas. “Well, what did you have in mind? Do the Bobcats know?”

“Oh, uh… they’re not planning anything,” said Maya, tapping her fingers together now. “I asked. So that’s why I’m going to do something instead. I’m going to throw her a birthday party, and I was wondering if maybe…”

“Consider yourself excused from chores for the day,” said Thomas, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder and smiling at her. There was warmth in his eyes. “You just go and do what you have to.”

“Oh, thank you!” said Maya, her eyes lighting up as she grinned. She felt like hugging the man. “Thank you so much, this means so much to me.”

“I know,” said Thomas, still smiling gently as she dashed off to untie and mount Lynx. As she rode away, he smiled after her. He hadn’t seen Maya so happy since she’d started working here.

Maya had picked out Nilmer’s Highland for the party, but first, she had to venture into Jorvik City to buy some supplies. She felt nervous about leaving Lynx with James, especially knowing the boy’s dislike of ponies, but he would be fine. Instead, she set herself to the task of picking out balloons and streamers, a cake, other party foods and soda, and the all-important birthday present. And thankfully, Lynx was still there when she got back.

“Okay, Lynx, I’m going to be a bit busy today, so please, for the love of Aideen, behave yourself,” said Maya, giving Lynx a stern look after tying him to one of the rickety old fence boards. Lynx flopped one ear and gave her a look to suggest that butter wouldn’t melt. Maya knew him better by now, though, and gave him an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture as she walked away from him and turned to begin stringing the streamers between buildings.

Thirty minutes later, Lynx had eaten a streamer. Maya turned from her work, noticing that Lynx had been quiet for too long, and saw a long string of green paper hanging out of his mouth. She groaned in frustration as she yanked it out of his mouth.

“It’s not grass, you idiot,” Maya grumbled. Lynx snorted.

Finally, despite Lynx’s best efforts, Maya had strung up all of the streamers, blown up the balloons, and even managed to set out the cake and party food (thankfully, all of it was encased in clear plastic). The drinks were kept in a cooler beneath the picnic table that Maya had dragged over here and had decorated with a picnic blanket for a table cloth. It wasn’t anywhere near as fancy as Tan’s party, but Maya knew that Clara wouldn’t mind.

“Alright, let’s go get the birthday girl,” said Maya, mounting her horse and hoping that nobody would ruin the set up as she rode down the hill.

Clara was, as usual for this time of day, mucking out the stalls in Moorland. Maya felt slightly amused at the fact that Clara had inadvertently done her task so that she could set up her birthday party.

“Hey, Clara,” said Maya, dismounting Lynx and holding his reins so that he wouldn’t wander away. Clara turned and grinned at her.

“Hi, Maya,” said Clara, dumping another shovelful of dirty hay into the wheelbarrow. She dusted her hands off and moved to the tap by the stables to wash the shovel off.

“Got any special plans for today?” asked Maya, smiling.

“No, not really,” said Clara, shaking the shovel dry and leaning it back up against the wall of the stable. “I was just going to go for a ride with Lionheart, maybe to Greendale.” Maya’s smile morphed into a grin.

“Well, I have a better idea,” said Maya. “Come up to Nilmer’s Highland with me, we can have a picnic and maybe just chat and ride around.”

“That sounds nice,” said Clara, smiling at her. “I think I’ll do that.”

“Yay! Then, let’s go,” said Maya, mounting her horse again. Clara mounted her own horse, a black American Quarter, and followed Maya out of the stables and up the mountain. Maya chatted as they went, talking about silly things that Lynx had done and funny things that had happened at the stables. Clara was still laughing as they finally came upon the sight of the transformed abandoned farm up at Nilmer’s Highland.

“Oh my gosh,” said Clara, covering her mouth with a hand as she came to a slow stop. Maya grinned, turning to face her.

“Happy birthday, Clara!” Maya cheered, pumping a fist into the air. Clara grinned, tears in her eyes as she dismounted and led Lionheart to a fence before tying him there. Maya did the same with Lynx, hoping that he wouldn’t misbehave and ruin Clara’s birthday party.

“Aww, Maya,” Clara cooed, and hugged her friend. “This is amazing, thank you!”

“Heh, well, you’ve been such a great friend to me and I know that today is your birthday,” said Maya. Clara nodded, still grinning from ear to ear.

“Wow,” said Clara. “You’ve decorated so well.”

“Well, it’s not Tan’s party, but it’s the best I could come up with,” said Maya. Clara laughed, looking around at everything.

“I don’t mind at all,” said Clara. “It just means so much to me that you went to all this trouble.”

“I’m glad you like it,” said Maya, playing with her hair. Seeing Clara so happy made her heart sing, and she couldn’t stop grinning.

The two of them sat down to enjoy the snacks and soda while they laughed and talked, music playing from Clara’s phone since Maya had neglected to bring a stereo with her and she could only afford a basic phone. An aura of peace and happiness seemed to settle over them, even when a few Bobcats wandered up to join in on the party. Soon, it began to feel like a real party, with everyone talking and dancing and having a great time. Clara looked utterly delighted by the whole thing, grinning as she spun around the impromptu dance floor, a paper crown on her head denoting her as the birthday girl.

When the time came for cake and presents, Clara sat back down at the table, a knife in her hand, and listened, grinning, as everyone sang ‘happy birthday’ to her. Then, she blew out her candles (donated by one of the other Bobcats) and cut the cake.

As the cake was sliced into enough pieces for everyone, nobody noticed another presence at the table. As each piece was handed out, he watched, his head following the cake’s movement. His ears fell lower as the cake grew smaller. And then, finally, everyone had a piece. He took his chance.

“Lynx!” Maya cried as a buckskin horse head lowered down to the cake container and plucked up the cake. He jerked his head back as he walked backwards, then walked away with the cake in his mouth and the paper casing sticking out of his mouth. Maya sighed. “Sorry about that, Clara.” But, when she turned to her friend, she found Clara laughing, along with everyone else.

“That horse of yours could make you a killing on Jortube, Maya, I swear,” said Clara, giggling. Maya chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess it is pretty funny,” said Maya. “He’s a real comedian, that one.”

“I’ll say,” said Clara, nodding. She began to eat her slice of cake, smiling at the taste.

When it came time for presents, the Bobcats all bemoaned their lack of any gifts to give her and promised that they’d give her one tomorrow. Clara secretly doubted that, but it was fine. At least they’d made her party fun.

“Well, here’s your present from me, anyway,” said Maya, giving Clara a wrapped gift that had a few bits of horse hair stuck to the tape. Clara imagined that a certain pony was to blame for that, but it made her smile.

“Thank you,” said Clara, and then she gasped when she tore the wrapping paper to reveal what was inside. It was a plush polar bear, with little black eyes, little felt black claws, and a little black smile on its face.

“Happy birthday!” said Maya, grinning, and Clara hugged her.

“Thank you, Maya, I love it,” said Clara, grinning as she pulled away from the hug and held her teddy close to her chest. “For the party, for the presents… for everything. Thank you.”

“Aww, it’s no problem,” said Maya, rubbing the back of her neck. “You’re my friend, you deserve nice things.”

“And so do you,” said Clara, her eyes glowing with happiness and a few unshed tears of joy. Maya’s smile widened at that, and she felt as if her heart might burst with joy. Clara really was a great friend to have.


End file.
